The Saya de Malha Bank (also Sahia de Malha Bank) is a large undersea bank in the Indian Ocean, part of the vast undersea Mascarene Plateau. It lies east of Madagascar, southeast of the Seychelles, and north of the Nazareth Bank, the Cargados Carajos shoals, and the island of Mauritius, and falls into Mauritian Territorial waters. The closest piece of land are the tiny Agalega Islands (a remote dependency of Mauritius), some 300 km further west, followed by the southern Seychellan island of Coëtivy, some 400 km northwest. Mauritius claims Saya de Malha Bank and it is part of its Exclusive Economic Zone. The Mascarene Plateau is an undersea plateau in the Indian Ocean, north and east of Madagascar. ... Nazareth Bank is a large undersea bank in the Indian Ocean, part of the vast undersea Mascarene Plateau. ... Map of the Cargados Carajos Islands Cargados Carajos Shoals (also known as the Saint Brandon Rocks) are a group of about 16 small islands and islets on an extended reef in the Indian Ocean northeast of Mauritius. ... Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending 12 twelve nautical miles from the shore of a littoral state that is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state, except that foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it. ... Map of the Agalega Islands The Agalega Islands are two islands in the Indian Ocean, lying 1,100 km (700 miles) north of Mauritius. ... National motto: Finis Coronat Opus (Latin: The End Crowns the Work) Official languages Creole; English and French Capital Victoria President James Michel Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 177th 455 km² Negligible Population  - Total (year)  - Density Ranked 181st 81,188 (2005 est. ... In international maritime law, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. ...

The bank was named by Portuguese explorers 500 years ago, who encountered the bank on the voyage between the Cape of Good Hope and India. After traversing miles of the deep blue Indian Ocean, they found themselves sailing above the shallow bank, which was covered with swaying green seagrass. 1888 Map of the Cape of Good Hope The expression Cape of Good Hope is used in two senses (1) sensu stricto it is a wild and rocky headland in South Africa, on the southern fringe of the Cape Peninsula, some thirty kilometres south of Cape Town (2) sensu lato...

The bank covers an area of 40,000 km². It is in fact composed of two separate structures, the smaller North Bank (also called Ritchie Bank) and the huge South Bank. If the South Bank it were to be recognized as a submerged atoll structure, it would be the largest of the world, being almost three times as big as the Great Chagos Bank that is commonly considered the largest atoll structure of the world. Even the smaller North Bank by itself would be one of the largest atolls worldwide. The North Bank and the South Bank very likely have different origins, since they appear to be separated by a fault. Studies also conclude that the South Bank and the Great Chagos Bank were one single feature until about 64 to 69 million years ago the opening of an ocean ridge between them started pushing them apart. Fanning Atoll (Tabuaeran) is a typical, small to moderate-sized atoll located in the central Pacific Ocean. ... The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ... There are various types of faults: In document ISO/CD 10303-226, a fault is defined as an abnormal condition or defect at the component, equipment, or sub-system level which may lead to a failure. ... The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ...

Saya de Malha Bank consists of a series of narrow shoals, with depths from 17 to 29 meters on the rim. They are arranged in a semicircular manner, around a space, the former lagoon, about 73 meters deep, which slopes on the Southeast. Parts of the bank are quite shallow, coming closer than 10 meters below the surface. The shallowest sites known are Poydenot Rock, with a depth of 8 meters, and an unnamed site 145 km further northwest, with a depth of 7 meters. The banks are covered with sea grass interspersed with small coral reefs. Because of its remote location, the bank is among the least-studied shallow marine ecoregions on the planet. The banks are a breeding ground for Humpback Whales and Blue Whales. This mid bay barrier in Narrabeen, a suburb of Sydney (Australia), has blocked what used to be a bay to form a lagoon. ... Johnsons seagrass in Florida coast Seagrass (or sea-grass in British English) is a term that refers to flowering plants from two plant families (Potamogetonaceae and Hydrocharitacea) that grow in the marine environment. ... Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef. ... Marine ecoregions are regions of the worlds oceans, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to aid in conservation activities for marine ecosystems. ... Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) Humpback Whale range Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-18, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Binomial name Balaenoptera musculus (Linneus, 1758) Blue Whale range The Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. ...

The bank was formed 35 million years ago by the Réunion hotspot, and is made up of basaltic basal rock overlain with limestone. The limestone banks found on the plateau are the remnants of coral reefs. Millions of years ago, the bank may have been one or more mountainous volcanic islands, like present-day Réunion, which subsequently sank below the waves. Some of the banks may have been low islands as recently as 18,000 - 6,000 years ago, when sea levels were up to 130 meters lower during the most recent ice age. The Réunion hotspot is a volcanic hotspot which presently lies under the Island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. ... Basalt Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock, sometimes porphyritic, and is often both fine-grained and dense. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ...

The North Bank is the site of an artificial island project. The name of the island that is to grow around steel structure that had been anchored to the sea floor in 2003 at a depth of 11 meters is Autopia, and it is the projected center of a new micronation of the same name. Mauritius will claim and annex any new piece of land that might emerge in the area automatically, just as occurred in the similar case of the Republic of Minerva on the Minerva Reefs, which is now part of Tonga. Mauritius does already claim the entire area. 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Micronations – sometimes also referred to as cybernations, fantasy countries, model countries, and new country projects – are entities that resemble independent nations or states, but for the most part exist only on paper, on the Internet, or in the minds of their creators. ... The Republic of Minerva was one of the few modern attempts at creating a sovereign micronation on the reclaimed land of an artificial island. ... The Minerva Reefs are a group of reefs located at 23°23′ S 178°58′ W in the Pacific Ocean. ...

External links

• Saya de Malha Bank (Lighthouse Foundation)
• Proposed artificial island and micronation Autopia (in German)